


A Lengthy Betrothal

by A_Professional_Protagonist



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22076788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Professional_Protagonist/pseuds/A_Professional_Protagonist
Summary: Some "deleted scenes" from my head canon filling in the details on Hiccup's and Astrid's betrothal. How did they go from secretly kissing to betrothed between Seasons 4 and 5 of Race to the Edge? Why isn't Astrid ready for marriage at the beginning of The Hidden World? What changes her mind?
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Comments: 12
Kudos: 73





	A Lengthy Betrothal

During Race to the Edge Season 5, Just before Sandbusted

The first tiny glimmer of light peaked above the horizon as Stoick the Vast stood utterly still, hidden behind his woodshed. Early morning dew soaked the leather of his boots as he stared at the rooftop window of his house, the rooftop window that led into his son’s room.

The window opened slowly. A pair of boots dropped to the ground with a soft thunk. Two slender legs in a spiked skirt slid out of the window, followed by a curvy torso, and a head of golden hair. The young woman descended the side of the house with stealth and grace before dropping to the ground to put on the boots. She looked back at the rooftop window as it silently closed again, before walking off into the early morning.

Stoick grinned like a little boy on Snoggletog morning. Finally. He had known that his son was utterly in love with the Hofferson girl for years. He’d seen it in the boy’s eager nervousness whenever she came to get her axe sharpened. Lately, he had seen love and respect in the way he spoke of her as his second in command on Dragon’s Edge. It was also clear to Stoick that Astrid admired and respected Hiccup. Her fear when he was kidnapped was more than just a friend's concern.

What he hadn’t known was just how far their relationship had come. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. They had been living out on the Edge with little supervision for over a year. No wonder respect and friendship had blossomed into young love. 

And he was ecstatic. Astrid was a wonderful young woman: the best warrior of her generation, smart, practical, level-headed. Yes, she would make an excellent chieftess. Hiccup and Astrid would complement each other well, balancing out the other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Then, Stoick sighed. It was a wonderful development, but he couldn't allow the scandal if they were caught sneaking around. Clearly, it was time he did something about this.

*** 

Astrid sat on a crate in the dragon stable slowly untangling a long rope. Her eyes were not on the task in her hands, instead they were admiring a firm, leather clad posterior across the stable.

Hiccup was bent over a broken feeding station, attempting to unclog it’s works. Astrid was shamelessly leering at him as if that firm posterior had not been unclad and in her hands mere hours before. 

It wasn’t like this situation was new. On the Edge, Hiccup and Astrid had often spent the night together with no consequences worse than feigned vomiting from Snotlout. But something about having to sneak around on Berk made Astrid feel more...possessive… of that posterior. 

A sudden crash interrupted Astrid’s ruminations. The double doors of the stable burst open as the twins ran in shouting.

“Hiccup! Congratulations! Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Tuffnut ran up to Hiccup, slapping him on the back and ruffling his hair.

“What?” Hiccup shrugged off the attention and looked across the stable at Astrid, who cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“Yea, how did you convince the ice princess here?” Ruffnut elbowed Astrid, giving her a sly wink.

“What?!” she echoed.

“Seriously, Hic, Chicken and I couldn’t be happier for you two.” Tuffnut patted his avian companion’s frill and sniffled small, happy tears.

“Oh come on, we need to get to the party. I heard they were going to break out the good stuff and it’s only midmorning.” Ruffnut bounced in excitement, attempting to pull Astrid by the hand.

“What party? The good stuff?” Hiccup shook his head.

Ruffnut smiled. “Your fathers are drinking to your betrothal in the Great Hall.”

***

Hiccup pounded the red hot metal quite a bit harder than was strictly necessary. After the incident in the stable, Astrid had flown off on Stormfly to avoid...everyone. Hiccup had come to the forge to take his aggression out on entirely innocent metal. 

“Who in the Realm of Hel does he think he is? Arranging a betrothal without even a word to me! Of all the things he has tried to force on me...” 

The hammer came down on the overworked stock, splitting it in two. 

“Thor!” Hiccup threw the hammer against the wall.

“Hello, son.” Stoick ducked through the doorway of the forge, glancing at the newly dented wall.

“Dad.” Hiccup turned his glare from the broken stock to his father, forcing his breath to slow.

Stoick took a long look at his red-faced, sweating son and held up a roll of parchment. “I’ve brought the contract for yeh to read. It’s pretty standard, although Astrid’s mother insisted on a clause regarding the place of daughters in the succession.” Stoick gave a small chuckle as he laid the contract on the table, looking back at his son from beneath his large eyebrows.

Hiccup willed his voice steady and pulled his shoulders back and straight.

“There. Will. Be. No. Contract.” 

“Now son, yeh can’t pretend to me that yeh don’t want to marry Astrid. Yeh’ve been in love with the girl since before yeh could walk.” 

“Of course, I want to marry Astrid. But when we are ready. On our terms. Not because you decided to push us into it. Didn’t you stop to think about how we would feel? Why didn’t you talk to me about it first?”

“Why? Because yeh’d never get around to it! Too busy adventuring to think about yehr responsibilities.” Stoick’s excitement turning to anger at his son’s recklessness. “Yeh didn’t think to marry her before yeh started taking her to yehr bed! 

“Oh.” Hiccup swallowed audibly as he realized what had precipitated this move by his father.

A long moment passed as father and son stared at each other.

“But, what gives you the right to decide our future?” Hiccup’s voice was quiet, but full of tension.

“The right? The right?! I’m yehr father. I’m the chief. That’s what gives me the right. I have to protect the future of Berk and it’s people. I have to protect yeh.” Stoick bellowed, fully red in the face now.

Hiccup threw up his hands and started pacing aimlessly. “What does this have to do with the future of Berk? This is about Astrid and me.” 

“It has everything to do with the future of Berk. Our people deserve a strong, secure leader.” Stoick pounded his right fist into his other hand. “Do yeh know how many tribes have been torn apart by bastards fighting for the chiefdom? I will not let that happen to Berk! There will be no taint of illegitimacy on my grandchildren!” 

“Bastards?! Gods, Dad. I’m not out making bastards.” Hiccup flushed red again, but with embarrassment rather than anger.

“Don’t insult me, son. I saw her leave yehr room this morning.”

“Oh Thor…” Hiccup looked intently at the dirt floor. “We are…..umm intimate…..but we’re not….you know...intimate in that way…..we can….. restrain ourselves…..”

Stoick’s stance relaxed and he emitted a small, honest chuckle. “Just everything but, eh lad.” A look of bemused pity flashed ever so briefly on Stoick’s face, before it hardened again. “Aye, and I was young and in love once too. I know full well how long that restraint is liable to last.”

Hiccup kicked at the dirt, not wanting to admit, even to himself, how strong the temptation really was.

But the awkward admission had broken Hiccup’s anger. 

“Look son, hear me out.” Stoick put his hand on Hiccup’s shoulder, voice softening. “If yeh two are properly betrothed, then any...lapses in restraint...will be considered legitimate. Yeh two can have as lengthy a betrothal as yeh need. Keep adventuring on the Edge and have the ceremony when yehr ready.”

Hiccup took a deep breath. He didn’t want to admit it, but his father had a point. And he did, after all, want to marry Astrid. She was everything to him; he couldn’t imagine a world without her in it. He just didn’t want the pressure to take over for his father that he knew would follow a marriage. And he didn’t think Astrid was ready for that responsibility either.

Hiccup kicked the dirt some more, chewing on his bottom lip. A lengthy betrothal though...that might just be a compromise they could work with.

“Okay.” He sighed. “Give me the contract. I’ll talk it through with Astrid.”

Stoick smiled and clapped Hiccup on the back. “Good, good son.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bronze medallion, gazing at it with bittersweet reverence. “This is just a small something, but it’s what I gave your mother on our betrothal.” Stoick swallowed. “Maybe you’ll consider giving it to Astrid, as well?”

During The Hidden World, late the night they found the Light Fury.

Hiccup’s arm tightened around her as Astrid tried to slip out of his bed; his drowsy fingers gently squeezing the curve of her hip. 

“Stay,” he mumbled.

She hesitated a moment, then gently pushed his hand away, turning to sit on the edge of the bed.

“I can’t. If I fall asleep, I’ll never sneak out before sunrise.” 

“So,” He scooted closer to her, fingers reaching, trying to pull her back down to him.

“So, then people will know I was here, and they’ll talk.”

“People already talk. It’s not like anyone actually thinks we aren’t doing this.” He gestured to the rumpled bed as he sat up, fully awake now and looking at her intently.

“Yea, well, I’m already getting enough comments from Gobber.” Astrid pulled on her pants as she stood, looking for her tunic.

“You know...” he tried to look nonchalant, “If we took Gobber’s advice, then you’d just live here.” He flashed her a cocky half grin, trying to make a joke out of it.

“Ugh, Hiccup, I already said we aren’t ready.” Astrid rolled her eyes in exasperation, turning to look at him. Her irritation vanished as she saw the hurt look flash in his eyes.

“Yea, yea, ridiculous. Us. Married. Now. Ha.” He smiled at her, trying to cover his disappointment with humor.

But Astrid saw through it. Her stomach knotted as she realized she’d hurt him. She hadn’t meant to, but she’d been so caught up in her panic about being pushed into something she wasn’t ready for that she hadn’t stopped to think about what he would feel.

“Oh Hiccup,” She said, crawling back onto the bed and taking his face in her hands. She kissed him sweetly on the lips. “I love you, you know that right?”

He smiled, forehead pressed against hers. “I know that. I love you, too.” He paused before deciding to press the issue. “So why, exactly, aren’t we ready?” He leaned back to look at her; his eyes serious.

Talking about feelings was not Astrid Hofferson’s strong suit. She was much better when she could solve the problem with an axe. She hated that they even needed to have this conversation. But they did. She knew that Hiccup deserved her honesty.

She took a deep breath, looking at her hands in her lap. “Because I’m not ready to be chieftess.”

“Ahh” Hiccup moved to hold her hands.

“I’m not ready for the pressure and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you better when you said that you weren’t ready to be chief. I’m sorry that I brushed you off and went on about how you should be honored. I hadn’t really thought about the pressure before….. before your father died.”

“Mmmhmm” Hiccup turned to gather her in his arms.

“And I hadn’t thought at all about the pressure that would be on me. Everyone’s comments and expectations. Gobber expects me to ‘wear the pants’ and magically solve all of Berk’s problems. Everyone expects me to give up flying and fighting and get to the important work of giving Berk an heir. My mother keeps telling me about the honor of being the mother to your heir and how nothing else will matter once I hold my own baby.” 

She sat up, pulling away from Hiccup to gesticulate wildly. “I’m not ready for that! I don’t want to give up flying! I don’t want a baby right now!”

“Neither do I,” Hiccup said quietly.

“I know. I love you. If this was just about you and me... “ she shrugged, lowering her voice. “If this was just about you and me, I would have married you two years ago.”

“But it isn’t about just you and me.” Hiccup turned Astrid’s face to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t thought about the pressures on you. I didn’t get a choice about when I became chief.” He squeezed her hands again. “And I wouldn’t have made it without your help.” He kissed her cheek. “You deserve a choice. You deserve to do this when you’re ready.”

She hugged him. “Thank you,” she murmured into his neck. “Thank you for understanding me.”

“Thank you for telling me.” He pulled back and winked at her. “I was starting to think you had your doubts about all of this.” He gestured to himself. “That’d you’d be running to Snotlout.”

“He only has eyes for your mom.” She grinned mockingly at him.

Some months after The Hidden World

It was barely fall, leaves not even starting to turn color, but the sun set earlier each night. Astrid hoped they would make it in time. Her right hand pulled on Hiccup’s left as she dragged him along behind her. Her left patted her side pocket to reassure herself that the mead was there. Hiccup, unlike most Vikings, could not hold his drink, but Astrid thought an occasion like this deserved a small toast.

“Slow down, Astrid. Where are we going? I told Gobber and Eret we’d go over plans for the pulley system over dinner.” Hiccup was still trying to figure out this whole skydock idea. It had seemed such a simple solution for the lack of accessible dock space on this new island, but it was proving more difficult than he thought to design a system for humans to safely raise and lower the boats on their own. Without dragons.

“I told them you were going to be busy. I have something important to show you.” Astrid pulled him faster, nervously glancing at the horizon.

They were hurrying through the outskirts of the new village. Astrid was amazed at how quickly they were building New Berk, even considering how much experience Berkians had at rebuilding. The central part of the village and communal spaces were erected. Everyone was now sleeping under an actual roof, even if it was crowded together in the mead hall. Spaces had been set aside for family homes. The plots nearest the central village had been started. Foundations dug, some walls up. Out here on the outskirts though, it was all measuring stakes and colored line.

This is where she had been working for the last couple weeks. Using map-making skills honed on adventures with Hiccup to lead the crews surveying and measuring this part of the massive effort to build New Berk. 

In fact, she’d been taking more and more responsibility since the Berkians had decided to settle here. The people looked to her as the chief’s general, second-in-command, and, even without the official title, chieftess. At first, it had been overwhelming, but then she had been awed by the way the people had pulled together, depending on each other now, not dragons. And it was an honor to help lead them.

Their destination was a plot was on the far edge, bordering the forest, and up on a small hill. 

They arrived just in time. Astrid grabbed Hiccup by the shoulders, turning him around to face west. 

From the hill, he could look out over the whole village. The plots for homes. The nearly completed mead hall. The grand square surrounded by the forge and other workshops. The half finished towers of the sky dock. Everything they were building here on New Berk.

And beyond it, the western horizon. The deep blue of the ocean met red and orange fire as the sun sank out of sight. Brilliant yellow interspersed with violet and indigo clouds, fading into an obsidian sky. 

And past it all, somewhere far beyond, the Hidden World and their dragons.

“Wow….just wow.” Hiccup whispered. He reached for Astrid’s hand as she moved to stand next to him. 

They stood for a long time, soaking in the view and the feelings it brought forth. The pride in what they were building here, and the bittersweet memories of what lay beyond the horizon.

“I thought we could build a big front porch facing this way. Maybe a fire pit so that we can sit out here at night.” 

“We could build…” Hiccup turned away from the fading beauty of the sunset to look at the golden haired woman beside him. A sight he never ceased to find beautiful.

“On our house.” Astrid kept her eyes forward, but squeezed his hand. “I thought we could build our house here….if you like it.”

“Our house…” Hiccup took Astrid’s chin in his hand, gently turning her to face him. “Does that mean you’re ready?”

Astrid punched Hiccup in the arm, lightly. “Yes, I’m ready.” She drew him down for a long, lingering kiss.

“So… when were you thinking of having the ceremony?” He asked when they finally broke apart.

“Hmmm.” Astrid bit her lip. “Maybe around Snoggletog? Most of the major construction will be done by then, and it can double as a celebration.”

Hiccup smiled. “That works. I can have the main portion of the house done by then, I think.” He started to pace around the plot, already planning out the design. “Maybe not all the bedrooms, but certainly the main level.”

“All the bedrooms?!” Astrid laughed.

He smiled, gathering her in his arms again. “Yea, for all the kids.”

Astrid punched him, harder this time, but smiling. “One thing at a time, babe.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction so reviews and comments are appreciated!


End file.
